Anna Kepner’s cell phone turned into a key piece of evidence that led to the arrest of her stepbrother, Timothy Hudson, after the 18-year-old was sexually assaulted and strangled aboard a Carnival Cruise ship in 2025, according to a new report.
People magazine obtained a transcript of testimony given by FBI Agent Andrew del Valle, who told the court that Hudson, 16, tried to destroy and dispose of Kepner’s phone, but he failed to do so.
del Valle testified that FBI agents started looking for the missing phone on November 8, 2025, after they launched an investigation into Kepner’s sexual assault and murder aboard the Carnival Horizon in Miami, Florida.
At first, the FBI agents couldn’t find the phone, but then they checked the lost and found — and there it was, del Valle testified. del Valle said the phone was seriously damaged with the screen smashed, and a crew member also testified that the device was originally found in a trash can.
Furthermore, del Valle testified that the FBI was able to download information from the phone and track how and when the device was removed from Kepner’s cabin — where she was sexually assaulted and murdered — to the garbage can in the hours after the attack.
del Valle said agents then reviewed the ship’s surveillance video connected to 4 routers, which showed Hudson in all 4 locations where the phone was at various times.
According to del Valle’s testimony, Hudson spent 22 seconds near the trash bin where the phone was discovered by the crew member. In February, Hudson was arrested by the FBI and arraigned as a minor on federal charges of murder and aggravated sexual abuse.
Prosecutors then refiled the case to charge Hudson as an adult after a grand jury indicted him. Hudson faces life in prison if convicted on the charges.
